Western Michigan vs. N. Illinois Pick
Can Northern Illinois keep its MAC title hopes alive tonight when the Huskies play host to Western Michigan tonight at 7PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Northern Illinois is favored at home, as the Huskies are getting odds of -9 points against Western Michigan. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 52 points. NIU has won seven of the last meetings with Western Michigan and the Huskies are 5-1 against the spread in the last six of this series. The public is currently putting 59 percent on Western Michigan on the road. Tonight’s game takes place from Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois and will air live on ESPN2.
Northern Illinois is coming off a 63-17 win over Ball State last week to improve to 7-3 on the season and 5-1 in the MAC. The Huskies are 6-4 against the spread this season, but just 2-4 ATS in conference play. NIU has a strong defense that is allowing just 18.8 points and 322.9 yards per game. Offensively, the Huskies are putting up 30.3 points and 403.5 yards per game. Marcus Childers has thrown for 1,248 yards and 13 touchdowns this year while rushing for 398 yards and four scores. Jordan Huff is adding 507 rushing yards while Spencer Tears has 33 catches for 408 yards and four scores.
Western Michigan is coming off a 48-20 win over Kent State last week to move to 6-4 on the season and 4-2 in the MAC. The Broncos are just 4-6 ATS in 2017, but they have covered in two of their last three games. Western is having a good offensive year, averaging 37 points and 407.9 yards per game. The team lost QB Jon Wassink to a broken collarbone and Reece Goddard has taken over for him. Goddard had struggled, throwing for just 151 yards on 16 of 40 passing. Jarvion Franklin is the focal point of the offense now. He has 1,061 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns. Defensively, WMU is allowing 27.6 points and 377.5 yards per game.
Bet on Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois
Western is coming off a good showing last week, but the Broncos have struggled with the Huskies, especially on the road. WMU is without much of a passing threat, which should allow the NIU defense to focus in on stopping Franklin. The Western defense has also not been as strong as it was last year, which should open the door for the Huskies to score regularly tonight. I like the Huskies to cover at home.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTION: NORTHERN ILLINOIS -9